


Codes

by Jennichi



Series: Bancoran/Maraich 30 Kisses Challenge [5]
Category: Patalliro!
Genre: 30 Kisses Challenge, Codes & Ciphers, M/M, Spies & Secret Agents, Theme #10
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 04:29:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17318111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jennichi/pseuds/Jennichi
Summary: Maraich helps Bancoran with a little spot of decoding.





	Codes

The pattern goes something like this: FUVF PVRJKFS IRVJF KUO LOUIBL VQB LCOAUBQ UBFIPWF KUM KUCRMLABY LFMKW PEIS LMHB EBOUMFW PEL IUY LFMKUQ.

It’s written in all capital letters on a paper pinned to the wall, and Bancoran has been staring at it for nearly an hour now. He’s at his desk, which has been cleared—the usual things are piled in the far corner of his office. Instead, he has pieces of notepad paper spread out over his blotter. A few more crumpled pieces lay on the floor around his rubbish can.

He blinks, which brings the room back into focus. “It shouldn’t be so difficult,” he says, and his tone is disgusted.

There’s a cursory knock on the door, which opens just enough for Maraich to slip through. He takes in the state of Bancoran’s office and his eyes grow wide. “What on earth are you doing?”

“Ah, Maraich.” He’s still staring at the paper, still distracted. “Half of Ciphers is down with the flu, so I offered to take some things…”

Maraich is still new enough to be frustrated by the acronyms and language of MI-6. “Ciphers?” He stands by the desk and cranes his head at the paper as well, hoping to break the spell. “What do they do, exactly?”

His perfume drifts over and Bancoran is successfully distracted. He turns away at last and gives the younger man an appreciative looking over. “The cryptology department. They take care of linguistic puzzles, so to speak. In intercepted messages, usually.”

“I didn’t know you were good at codes.” Maraich’s smile says that he isn’t surprised.

“Ah, well, it’s more of a hobby.” Bancoran gives the paper a dark scowl. “And apparently I’m not as good as I thought. I can’t make any sense out of the damn thing.”

So he holds out one slim gloved hand and pulls Maraich into his lap. His eyes have that gleam in them that Maraich knows so well. “I suspect that I’m in grave need of a distraction,” Bancoran tells him.

Maraich nuzzles close, obliging as always. The idea of snuggling with Bancoran might seem ridiculous but its actually rather comfortable, despite all the hard muscles and sinew. One of them should put on weight, he thinks. Bancoran’s hand is palm down on his thigh, just resting there and spreading warmth. Ban has a high body temperature, and the glove doesn’t stop Maraich from soaking it up. Sometimes it’s nice to be able to just close their eyes and breathe.

He speaks into Ban’s collarbone. “So what have you tried so far?”

Bancoran’s sigh vibrates up from deep in his chest. “Looks like a simple substitution cipher, especially based on the letters-per-word count. The ladies assured me it would be in English, and it was a hasty thing; there shouldn’t be anything tricky about it. So I tried to pick out the most frequently occurring letters.”

His hand is rubbing in small, regular circles now. It’s very soothing and Maraich has to fight to keep his eyes from slipping closed. There’s something about the offices in the evening – most of the staff has gone home already, and you can feel the emptiness of the place. It echoes as the shadows creep in.

“Why?”

“Some letters turn up more regularly than others in any language, so it would narrow things down.” His eyes narrow. “How is this distracting me, exactly?”

Maraich laughs and stretches, looping his arms around Bancoran’s neck and pulling him down for a lazy kiss. Then presses another on the corner of his mouth. Sometimes he suspects he can feel Bancoran smiling when he does that, but he can never pull back fast enough to catch it. This time is no exception.

“So what’s the most-used letter in the English language?”

“Maraich!”

“I’m curious.” This calls for a flirty smile, one that begs for secrets in exchange for secrets. “Please, Bancoran?”

“I remember when you couldn’t even string two words together while I was having my wicked way with you,” Bancoran laments. But he’s still more amused and tolerant than impatient. “E. E, T, and A.”

He stands up now, patience spent. Maraich is an easy weight, so he simply pulls him up as well, as if he’s hefting a bride for that final step across the threshold. The desk must be cleared enough for him, because Maraich can feel the papers shift under his back when he lands with a thump. Hands slide up his thighs and over his hips, deftly undoing ties and buttons. Maraich wants to know Bancoran’s secret, because he can never get his tight, polyester pants off so quickly on his own. Sweat is already pooling at the small of his back, but apparently they’re in a real hurry tonight, because the gauzy shirt remains.

The gloves are off, dropped onto a corner of the desk, and this is the moment Maraich loves the most, that first electric touch of skin on skin. And yet, some part of him is stubborn today, and that earlier comment was a challenge, even if it wasn’t meant as one. He’ll string as many words together as he feels he should, and nothing is going to stop him. “So what was the most frequent letter in the code?” he asks. His voice is a bit breathier than usual, but otherwise he’s rather proud of the nonchalance.

Bancoran actually stops in surprise. He shifts closer, crowding Maraich. His mouth is so close that Maraich can feel his soft breathing on his ear, and it sends shivers through him. “U,” Bancoran whispers. “Ten times.”

It’s strange to be having a conversation like this, as if they’re doing something mundane. The world is disjointed and acting in ways it never had before. Maraich likes it. Then Bancoran does that little hitching motion, pushing against him. The friction is good, and Maraich reaches for it blindly, anchoring his hands on Bancoran’s hips and digging in with his nails. He’ll leave marks, and he knows it. Maybe that’s why he does it. He tugs, trying to rearrange them on the angles of the desk.

“Shift over,” he orders.

He’s not prepared for Bancoran to freeze and pull back. There’s a look on his face as if he’s been hit by a plank, and Maraich hunts around instinctively for the assailant. “Ban? What?”

“Shift over,” Bancoran says, and he’s staring off into space. “Yes. That could do it…”

Maraich’s frustrated, and he’s getting cold left alone in the air-conditioned office. The moment has passed. It’s suddenly uncomfortable to be lying spread out on the desk. He sits up huffily and slides off. “I didn’t mean for you to stop! What the hell, Bancoran?”

The only notice Bancoran takes is to gather up his crumpled papers. He snatches the code from its place on the wall and slaps it down beside them. His pen is flying. “Yes… and… hm… right. Right. Yes!”

Maraich sighs and leans over to look down at Bancoran’s epiphany. He’s done it—he’s decoded the message—but Maraich is still clueless as to how. He reads, “Ten tonight, bring the papers and samples. Destroy the chemicals. Watch your back. Suspect you are watched.”

Bancoran is puffed up, the smile in his eyes brilliant. “It didn’t make sense because there was no pattern to the three-letter words. No repetition from ‘the’s or ‘and’s. No two-letter words to lend any clues either.” He taps the paper with one long finger, and Maraich is arrested, because his gloves are still off. “But then you said it: ‘shift over’. That’s what I was missing. Take the original code and shift the last letter of every word over.”

He demonstrated.

FUV FPVRJKF SIRVJ FKU OLOUIB LVQ BLCOAUB QUBFIPW FKU MKUCRMLAB YLFMK WPEI SLMH BEBOUMF WPE LIU YLFMKUQ.

“Then we have two three letter words which are the same ‘fku’. ‘U’ is the most common letter, so it is probably ‘e’, and this is probably ‘the’. We have three letters and just have to work out the rest. Simple.”

Maraich shakes his head, not so ready to call it an easy task. “Do you realize it’s half-past nine?”

Bancoran is already tightening his tie. “That will give us just enough time to get there.”

“You know where they’re meeting?”

“Of course.”

**Author's Note:**

> Continued in "Fashion and Decor."


End file.
